1521- Pope Leo X excommunicated former monk turned Protestant leader Martin Luther. In Wurttemberg Germany former Luther responded by tearing up and burning the Pope’s decree, as well as the canon of Roman law.

1777- BATTLE OF PRINCETON- After his Christmas victory at Trenton, George Washington’s little army gives the main British army the slip, wheels around behind them and surprise attacked another redcoat regiment at Princeton New Jersey.
Years before young student Alexander Hamilton had failed the entrance requirements to study at Princeton University. Instead he went to Kings College, later renamed Columbia. Now Major Hamilton had a pleasure rare among rejected college applicants- he got to fire a few cannon rounds into the Princeton admissions building.

1834- Tejano leader Stephen Austin traveled to Mexico City to put forward the grievances of his community to the Mexican government. Texians disliked that President Santa Anna had revoked the liberal Constitution of 1826 that had invited Anglo settlers to populate remote Texas. And they wanted Texas to be a separate state from the Mexican state of Coahiula. Austin had suppressed all talk of independence in order to work with the new regime in Mexico City. Santa Anna responded to his petitions by clapping him in prison. He was released a year later and returned to Texas, hot for independence.

1868- the MEIJI RESTORATION- In Japan the Tokugawa family had ruled as Shoguns since winning Japans internal civil wars in 1603, keeping the Emperor as a figurehead. On this date a revolution occurred when radical samurai seized Kyoto Palace and overthrew the Shogunate. Japan would be under the direct control of the Emperor and Japan would end her enforced isolation, and modernize her society. The Emperor Meiji would also move the capitol from Kyoto to Yedo, already being called Tokyo.

1871- Henry Bradley patents Oleomargerine in the U.S.. It had been demonstrated in the Paris Exhibition of 1867 as a butter that didn't spoil, so Emperor Napoleon III thought it was useful to armies in the field.

1899- An editorial in the New York Times refers to the horseless carriage as an “Automobile”. This is the earliest known use of the word.

1925-Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini suspended democracy and his black shirted followers declared him Il Duce, or the leader. He became dictator of Italy.

1926- General Motors introduced the Pontiac brand of automobile.

1933- MGM Louis B. Mayer hired his son-in-law David O. Selznick to produce movies. At the same time he was begging his filmworkers to take 20% paycuts because of the Depression, Mayer set his salary at $4,000 a week.
Newspapers joked “The Son-In-Law Also Rises”

1946- Lord Haw-Haw, William Joyce, the English voice of Nazi radio propaganda broadcast from Berlin, was hanged for treason. English Fascist Joyce was actually born in Brooklyn but moved to England at an early age. He was nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw because of his stuffy upper class accent.

1952-The T.V. series DRAGNET premiered today. “The story you have seen is true, the names have been changed to protect the innocent.” Star Jack Webb produced and wrote most of the scripts and oversaw the deadpan acting style.” Just the facts, Mam..”

1958- Howard Rushmore was the editor of Confidential, one of the most ruthless scandal magazines in show business. This day for reasons never explained Rushmore murdered his wife then took his own life in the back of a NYC taxicab.

1959- Alaska became the 49th state.

1967- Jack Ruby, real name Jacob Rubenstein, the murderer of Lee Harvey Oswald, died of lung cancer in prison. To the end he was refused a meeting with Congress where he claimed he could discuss his patriotic motives for killing Oswald. Retired Mafia don Bill Bonano said Ruby being Jewish and not Sicilian, was the type of hood the mob used for clean-up jobs. That he was a soldier for Chicago boss Sam Giancana. Others say Ruby was just a two bit loser who claimed he was more important than he actually was.

1973- Boatbuilding tycoon and George Steinbrenner led a group that buys the last place New York Yankees baseball club from CBS. "The Boss" becomes one of the more colorful baseball owners and propelled the Yankees into a new era of championship contention. Steinbrenner bought the Yankees for $10 million, and today they are worth several billion.

1977- Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne file papers to form the Apple Computer Company. Within two weeks Wayne sold his third of the company to Jobs and Woz for $800. He thought he’d get stuck with the bills when the company went belly-up.

2004- The first of two Mars Rovers, Pathfinder and Sojourner, landed safely on Mars and began transmitting. JPL Mission leader announced "We're Back...We're on Mars.." Only supposed to last 90 days, the rovers are still transmitting photos today.

2004- After partying hard all New Years in Las Vegas, 22 year old pop star Britney Spears woke up and realized she had married her friend Jay Alexander for a laugh. Today she annulled it. Alexander, who listed himself as unemployed, was soon seen driving around rural Louisiana in a $90,000 BMW.
----------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday’s Question: What does it mean to be perspicacious?

Answer: It means having an intuitive understanding of a problem or situation, usually gained from experience. Insightful, persistently intuitive.